Holy cannoli, kids! Can you believe we’re already into Part VII of our series? That means, as of this post, you’ve seen 49 dittoed costumes. FORTY-NINE. And there’s still more to come! The folks at Randall sure are getting their money’s worth out of these dresses, eh? ;-)

But you’d better enjoy it while it lasts, kids – once season 11 premieres, Heidi and I may be too busy to continue this series and still do our regular season features (DWTS By the Numbers, the power rankings, the Cheesecake Awards…all the in-season stuff you love!). And the beautiful Marcela only has so many pictures she can share with us! So unless anyone’s got a cache of (decent-quality, un-watermarked) pictures from all 10 seasons that you’d be willing to share with two very appreciative bloggers ;-), please…savor every last one of these costume contrasts ;-) (Heidi: No question, we may be too busy starting Friday when the Pros find out if they’re back for the season or not. ;-) )

Battle of the purple cut-out bodice dress with the black & blue ruffled skirt: Cheryl’s paso with Maurice in season 7 vs. some random pro Sandra Udis in some random pro dance in a subsequent season :-P

Courtney: Ok, we confess: we have no clue who the blonde is, or what performance this dress was dittoed in. Believe me, we searched high & low – to no avail. So if anyone does know which performance this was, please, do share! :-) Well I don’t think the dress does either lady any favors…hell, the purple bodice seems to clash with the electric blue trim on the skirt! And this was unfortunately during Cheryl’s “frumpy” season – the season where every single costume they put her in just wasn’t flattering. But her shoes seem to match better, so I’ll give it to Cheryl.

Heidi: Another week, another gawdawful dress. Lordy. I think besides the blue versus purple is definitely a problem – but Cheryl’s hair is just to severe for that cut of dress. It makes it worse. I have to agree with Courtney – the matching shoes give Cheryl they edge, although the dress sucks on both of them.

The winner: Cheryl, by a foot.

Battle of the royal blue, asymmetrical silk ballgown with beaded belt: Debi’s foxtrot relay with Maks in season 9 vs. Lacey in the “story telling” pro demo in season 10

Heidi: This is one of those rare instances when the dress in motion doesn’t do the wearer a favor. I seem to recall that Debi, when dancing, didn’t look fab in this dress, but she sure looks great in it standing still!! I have no clue what Lacey has going on here.

Courtney: Ok, I’m sorry, but this pic of Lacey is just cracking me up – she looks like she has to poop or something. Like one of the dancing people in the Pepto commercials. Yes, I am feeling extra juvenile this week, kids :-P Awkward stances aside, I like the dress better on Debbie – looks more dignified and flatters her figure better. Lacey, like Cheryl, seems to have the problem with certain silhouettes making her look heavier than she really is.

The winner: Debi for dignity ;-)

Battle of the skimpy, pink overdye silk ballgown: Edyta’s foxtrot with Joey in season 3 vs. Anna’s preseason photo shoot in season 6

Courtney: Wow, is it just me, or is there something delightfully ho-tastic about this dress? :-P Well, really just the top of it – it’s awfully scandalous as far as ballgowns go. Without being too lewd…let’s just say it looks like something one might see at an “adult novelty store” or a “gentlemen’s club”. But what’s really funny to me is that for as skankalicious as the cut of the dress is, the color seems really sweet & demure…almost like a prom dress. Anywho…the cloying pink color of this number seems to flatter Anna better than it does Edyta.

Heidi: Let me be more crude – you’re likely to see the top part of this outfit in a place with a lot of Poles. ;-) And I don’t mean Poland. Anyway, Anna manages to actually remove some of the skank-tastic-ness from this dress. A combination of the color and her pose and the sweet smile. Gotta hand it to her. ;-) Is this two weeks in a row that Edyta has actually lost????

Courtney: Indeed it has been two weeks in a row. Maybe Edyta isn’t the costume goddess we once thought she was!

The winner: Anna…for making the dress look more like it’s from Russia, than from Pole-land ;-) Get it??? Hehe!

Battle of the long-sleeve, black mesh cut-out ballgown: Edyta’s tango with Jason in season 6 vs. Kym’s tango with Mayo in the new pro competition in season 8

Heidi: Kym, Kym, Kym!! Fierce expression and a rockin’ bod. Best boobage on the show. She’s sooo hot. But besides how fantastic Kym looks – have we ever seen Edyta slump her shoulders like that before?? It really detracts from her whole…Edyta-ness!!

Courtney: Some minor tweakage does a world of good here! Glad they replaced Edyta’s flesh-colored hip strap with something more substantial that matches the dress – doesn’t look odd like it did before. And Heidi and I agree – Kym has the most fierce expressions and really works her costumes for all they’re worth. So hot!

Battle of the olive green, army-inspired paso dress: Julianne’s paso with Cody in season 7 vs. Aliona Vilani in the pro dance to Rascal Flatts in season 8

Courtney: Anyone else remember Aliona when she tried out for season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance with her boyfriend Leonidas Proskurov? I thought for sure she was going to make it to the top 20…but thankfully, they took Chelsie instead – I daresay Chelsie had both the chops and the personality to succeed on the show. Ok, back on topic. I really don’t care for this dress. I never really understood why they opted for a military theme while dancing to Shiny Toy Guns, but I guess I’ll give it to Julianne – the dress looks a lot less “clunky” on her, while I think Aliona is weighed down by bulky boots & dark leggings.

Heidi: I only remember Aliona from her Viennese Waltz with Derek on the last tour – amazingly beautiful dance. Kudos to Maks for that choreography, although I’ve heard the pros have a lot to do with their own solos. Anyway, not only do Aliona’s leggings kill it, but Julianne really has it pulled together. Between the cute little hat and the hair that goes with it, she’s workin’ it the right way.

The winner: Julianne by a hat.

Battle of the two-piece, ruffle-y yellow beaded Latin dress: Karina’s mambo with Rocco in season 7 vs. Edyta in the pro dance to Robin Thicke in season 8 vs. one of the performers in the Tiempo Libre performance in season 9

Heidi: Ick. Yellow. I got nuthin’ else.

Courtney: I’m afraid I’ve fallen in yellow costume apathy, because I’m having a hard time liking some of the yellow dresses we’ve featured in the past few weeks. This ensemble is just ok for me. Sorry Edyta, but the way your hair is styled just doesn’t seem to mesh well with the outfit; and Tiempo Libre dancer, it looks a bit ill-fitting on you. Karina, it looks like you’ve been playing with your It Cosmetics Airbrush Abs kit again, but I’ll give it to you…even with an ace bandage around your ankle, you manage to pull this one off.

The winner: Karina…is it bad that she wins this one by an ace bandage and some airbrushed abs?

Battle of the red, beaded Latin dress with the sweetheart neckline: Marissa’s mambo with Tony in season 6 vs. Niecy’s preseason photo shoot with Louis in season 10

Courtney: Marissa, no doubt – I just absolutely love her expression in this picture! She just looks like she’s having the most fun ever. The beads are just sparkling away, and she’s got a huge smile on her face. Niecy, on the other hand – I feel like she falls victim to the curse of the preseason photo shoot. It always seems to make the dresses look less than impressive, and everyone seems to look so…I don’t know, made-up? Niecy and Louis both look kinda artificial to me, like they’ve been over-airbrushed.

Heidi: I agree, I love the look on Marissa’s face (although I didn’t like her ‘tude in post show interviews at all – seemed petty and jealous) – like she can’t believe she’s doing it. I also can’t stand Louis anymore either, so that’s a point against Niecy – although I like her just fine.

Ultrasound sales specialist by day, semi-knowledgeable DWTS fan by night...with a smattering of hair & makeup enthusiast, occasional model, and crazy cat lady peppered in to make things REALLY interesting ;-) I might pee my pants in happiness if Donnie Wahlberg ever does DWTS - or if they ever use "Sunglasses at Night" as a paso doble. Check out some of my other work at pureamericasgottalent.com!

Tonight was quite the shocker for me. I was certain that Melissa Rycroft would be going home. I guess I seriously underestimated the number of fans that are sympathetic to Melissa. Add in the injury and Melissa really must have garnered a ton of sympathy votes.

Don’t get me wrong. Melissa is a wonderful dancer and I don’t like anyone getting sent home due to injury, but I really thought that Julianne and Chuck would have gotten more votes. Hard to believe that Ty and Chelsie is possibly more popular than Chuck and Julianne. Pretty amazing stuff.

Well, as usual here’s the list of Dancing with the Stars music from the week 8 results show:
Robin Thicke sang the song “When I Get You Alone” for Alec Mazo, Edyta Sliwinska, Cheryl Burke, Tony Dovolani, Kym Johnson, and Dmitry Chaplin’s professional dance performance.

Robin Thicke sang the song “Sidestep” to special guest professional dancers Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis (of So You Think You Can Dance fame)

Professional Dancer Competition (future Dancing with the Star professional)
Genya Mazo & Afton DelGrosso danced a Quickstep
Mayo Alanen & Anna Demidova danced a Jive
Brent Borbon and Snow Urbin were knocked out of the competition to be the next professional on Dancing with the Stars.